CH 68

After receiving an enchantment from Lou…

Nadia gained a new, long-cherished love wand as the staff of Sylph.

Marco saw them off as they left the Kingsley Company with a complicated expression on his face…

Nadia tugged on Lou’s hand.

“Well, now that we’ve done the shopping, let’s have lunch. I’m pretty hungry. I’ll show you around this time.”

After saying this, Nadia pulled Lou’s hand, and they walked further.

As she had said, she was fully aware of where to go.

But for some reason, Lou couldn’t help but feel a sense of familiarity in the direction Nadia was taking him.

――― 15 minutes later.

They arrived in an elegant and refined place.

The signboard says ‘Breezy Restaurant’.

Sure enough, this was the restaurant where Fran brought Lou some time ago.

“Nadia”

“Hmm?”

“Is Fran inside?”

Nadia cutely stuck her tongue out upon hearing Lou’s question. 

He knows?

She also smiled mischievously.

“Wow, that’s impressive. Headmistress, or rather Francesca-sensei, told me that you’d find out because you can use Scouting Magic that’s great for more than just spotting enemies. Sure enough…What do you think? Do you want to change restaurants?”

“No, there’s no reason to change…You two need to talk to me together, don’t you?”

Nadia’s smile instantly changed when she heard Lou’s query.

She seriously looked into Lou’s face.

“Hmm. I can’t say you’re too intuitive, Lou, but it never occurred to me you could tell that.”

She nodded in admiration.

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ 

“Um, we’re meeting someone…”

When they entered the Breezy Restaurant…

Nadia gave her name to the man who seemed to be the manager.

Apparently, ‘meet-ups’ were a common occurrence.

The manager took them to a seat in the back of the room with an air of familiarity.

In the back of the room, as Lou had pointed out, Fran was waiting alone, without eating.

Fran waved gently when she noticed them.

Of course, it would be a nuisance to the people around, and it was against etiquette, so she just shut up and didn’t speak up.

But for some reason, she didn’t feel in a bad mood, even though she was eating with Nadia.

“Francesca-sensei, I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”

“It’s nothing. I’ve waited for a while. But it isn’t a big deal.”

Fran wasn’t lying.

Her natural smile on her face proved it.

“Oh, Right, Francesca-sensei, we saw your brother earlier.”

After seeing Fran’s face, Nadia remembered the incident with George earlier.

“Huh?! George? What happened?”

“Uhh…you won’t hear it from me…”

Hearing Nadia’s crisp answer, Fran chuckled.

Why, did he do something wrong already?

As an older sister, Fran knew George’s personality.

He was very kind to his mother and sister, but…

He was a nobleman, and he was overbearing to the merchants and commoners.

On the flip side, he was cowardly, and tended to go out of control.

Nadia gave her a meaningful look, and Lou started narrating everything. 

Seeing this, Fran exhaled. 

…You’re already breathing in sync.

This guy makes girls have fun when he’s with them.

Fran was lost in thought when…

She heard Lou talking about her brother, George.

The incident was just as she had expected.

In addition, Lou said he saved him from a ruffian’s assault. 

“I see. Thank you. You’ve been a big help.”

Uh-oh.

Lou had taken care of them, siblings…

Fran giggled and thanked Lou again.

◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ 

After talking about George, they had dinner.

The threeknew each other well, so the atmosphere was quite cordial.

After the delicious meal, tea was served, and … Fran raised her hand slowly.

For some reason, she stared at Lou’s face primly.

“Now that we’re all settled in, let’s talk about the purpose of this meeting today…”

But Nadia also raised her hand, as did Fran.

“Erm, Francesca-sensei, if you could just wait a moment. I’d like to talk to you about … about my ‘girlfriend declaration’.

“What’s wrong?”

Fran asked, but Nadia merely chuckled and shrugged.

“If I don’t do something, nothing’s gonna work.”

“What? What’s not going to work?”

“Actually, Lou-sensei doesn’t know exactly what ‘girlfriend’ means.”

“P-Pardon?”

As I thought…

Nadia didn’t address Lou by this name out of the blue in front of Fran either.

She was considering how Fran might feel. 

“It’s my fault for getting ahead of myself…”

Nadia bowed to Fran.

“Lou-sensei thinks ‘girlfriend’ means someone he protects, and I appreciate that…”

He was the protector…Nadia shared, and Fran was convinced.

“I know…You’re right! It’s the same with me. I hope he’d have other feelings towards me, too.”

“Exactly!”

In response to Fran’s complaining call, Nadia also chimed in.

Just then.

Lou called Fran.

“Fran?”

“What?”

“I just realized I have to protect Nadia too… I’m sorry you’re not the only one.”

“Oh, Lou, uhahaha.”

“Hahahaha.”

Hearing Lou’s apology, both Fran and Nadia couldn’t help but laugh.

“Was that funny?”

When Lou tilted his head in confusion, they couldn’t take it anymore.

Fran and Nadia started laughing out loud.

Then the accusing eyes of the other guests focused on them. 

“Oh, shoot!”

“Francesca-sensei, we need to be quiet.”

They managed to hold back their laughter and put their index fingers to their lips.

They had a lot going on, but they must put the finishing touches on this operation.

In fact, Fran and Nadia had a meeting beforehand.

Once again, it was to get Lou to say something and make him promise something.

Thus, the ‘operation’ was immediately launched.

A shocking request burst out of both of their mouths.

“Lou.”

“Lou-sensei.”

“What is it?”

“Um, can we both be your fiancées?”

“Precisely! That’s right! Make me and Francesca-sensei your  fiancées.”

“Hmm, fiancée, I’ve heard something about it…”

For some reason, Lou’s reaction to hearing getting engaged was quite muted.

“Um, is that how it’s supposed to be…in order to protect you guys?”

Fran and Nadia looked at each other, stunned.

If the girlfriend declaration couldn’t work, they thought being simple and straightforward could…

Lou still couldn’t get it.

He probably wasn’t lying.

Or he knew but wasn’t falling for it.

He was very serious.　

Fran and Nadia nodded in understanding of the situation…

They had no choice but to quickly switch strategies.

They decided to go with the ‘silent’ approach.

The result…

No matter how much Lou asked, they just laughed and didn’t answer.

The two women silently pressured …until Louto finally gave in.

“F-Fine! If I have to.”

“Yay.”

“Yes!”

They had gotten Lou’s word!

Fran and Nadia exclaimed once more, and ended up getting a warning from the manager.

However, such caution was nowhere in sight.

They were both so excited…

Sensing that something was up, Lou asked timidly.

“…Hey, just out of curiosity, can I ask you something? What the hell is a fiancée?”

“Hahaha, now I’ll answer.”

Nadia laughed mischievously … and told him the finishing touch.

By ‘fiancée,’ I mean a marriage partner.”

“What? Marriage? Me?With you both?”

“Yes! Lou-sensei, you are going to marry us eventually. You’re going to make us your wives!”

Nadia said triumphantly, and beside her, Fran grinned from ear to ear.

Hearing about this point…

Finally understanding the meaning, Lou bellowed.

“Whaaaat! Who’s your fiancé? You’re talking about the Arlvs nuptials!”

“Sir! Don’t you understand? I’ve been telling you to be quiet!”

With the three’s repeated clamoring…

The manager of the Breezy Restaurant seemed to have lost his patience.

He folded his arms and faced them angrily. 

Translator Note: Seriously, I’m losing interest seeing how Lou was pushed around, and more like a yes-man in front of the girls…I’m thinking of dropping this.